The End Starts Now
by AvalonBay
Summary: As the Talon Ranger, Heckyl is finally starting to move on from his past. But when Snide comes back to settle the score, Heckyl and the rangers know it's going to end with one of them destroyed. He's prepared to face the consequences and will do everything in his power to make sure Snide is gone, once and for all.
1. The End Starts Now

**The End Starts Now**

 **Summary** \- As the Talon Ranger, Heckyl is finally starting to move on from his past. But when Snide comes back to settle the score, Heckyl and the rangers know it's going to end with one of them destroyed. He's prepared to face the consequences and will do everything in his power to make sure Snide is gone, once and for all.

* * *

Crickets chirped in the otherwise still night air. Heckyl grew to enjoy the sound. It was much better than crackling branches and twigs, alerting him to the danger coming near him. There were too many threats to him now. Too many of his former cohorts that knew of him and Snide, that knew of his and Snide's split. It was only a matter of time until someone came for him.

He did his best to stay away from the rest of the rangers. Just for the time being. They needed to stay safe while he figured things out. Couldn't have them become blindsided and maimed all because…well…because they'd grown to be his friends? Grown to be his teammates? There were too many risks. He couldn't risk them anymore.

Besides, he wasn't someone who could sit back and let it happen. Not anymore. There were too many things at stake now. Besides, he'd grown used to being in the woods. Those house comforts…the places the rangers lived…it wasn't his home. No. He couldn't stand sleeping in beds. They were too uncomfortable; too worrying. If he slept as soundly as he did on those beds, he'd let himself be a target for anyone who came too close. Koda had it right; sleeping in trees, sleeping on the ground, it was easier for him. Not comfortable in the slightest, but at least there was enough space around him to hear whatever may be coming. No way to hide.

And as Heckyl sat in front of the roaring fire, he'd grown very adept at making them in a flash, his sense of comfort was immediately shattered. Pain shot through his neck, making his eyes slam shut. The pain exploded through the rest of his body, like a sledgehammer smashing against his skull. His teeth clenched together, breath halted, gasps gurgled in his throat.

How long had it been? How long had he been a ranger? How long had he been at peace? Not long enough. The pain slowly subsided,

Heckyl opened his eyes, bringing his fingers to press against his neck. Even in the dim lighting he could see the blue hue emanating from him. A wave of dread flowed through him. He knew it was coming, knew it was only a matter of time until his sense of peace was shattered.

Knew the connection they had was never going to be completely severed until one of them was dead. That day was drawing closer.

Snide had returned.

* * *

 **A/N:** Finally, the last story is up. I'm sorry it took so long, but I wanted to be able to get a good chunk of the story done before I posted. First time I've done that, I'm pretty sure. Anyway, I hope you guys enjoyed the prologue and I'll have the next part up soon.

 **~Avalon**


	2. Chapter 1

Thanks to **DragonEmperor999, thunderyoshi, and ZRyder** for reviewing.

* * *

 **1**

* * *

"I'm sorry, sir, but you can't come back here." Kendall hovered in the doorway to her office, keeping as much of a pleasant smile as she could muster despite the irritation she felt while standing in front of the also irate customer.

"Are you the manager?" The man demanded.

"I own this place," Kendall replied primly. She pushed her glasses up her nose and stared down the man in front of her. "I'm the proprietor and lead scientist here at the museum." She did her best not to smirk at the fleeting look that shot through the man's eyes. He was stunned, she could tell. It was the same thing every time; as soon as Kendall mentioned who she was within the museum, she got stunned responses.

Yes, she was young. But she was also very hard working and made sure things ran smoothly. Every month the museum was lautered as being the highest ranked museum within the state in terms of customer satisfaction, enjoyment, and activities. She worked hard to keep the reputation of the museum high, it was her baby. There wasn't much else going on in her life.

Not as of late.

Kendall cleared her throat, pushing her glasses up her nose as soon as the thought of Heckyl entered her head. He'd been gone long enough she was starting to worry. Things had been working well between the rangers since he'd joined the team. He didn't get in anyone's way and did everything he was asked. Then, one day, he didn't show up to work and continued to not show up. He didn't come to their training sessions, didn't show up during monster fights. Nothing.

Even James, who was much older than the other rangers and had a day job that kept him away from the everyday life of the café, arrived in battles with them. Worked hard to join the team despite being on his own for years. And it was certainly heartwarming to see how he and Tyler were getting along. He'd quickly moved into the 'dad role' of the group, helping back up Kendall when the time came.

Not that he didn't know when to have fun. Tyler certainly was his son.

"I've been waiting for almost a half hour to have my order taken. You either need to train your staff better or fire them all and higher people who are less incompetent."

Kendall's eyes narrowed. There weren't many things she disliked in life more than being told what to do. She could understand if there wasn't an even balance in power. There were people within the museum's organization she answered to personally. But to be spoken to like that, when she knew the rangers were more than capable of doing their day job, that's where she drew the line.

"My staff are more than capable to do any work they're given," Kendall said. She folded her arms. "'And if there's something that's keeping them form taking your order, I apologize for the wait. However, they—" she stopped, suddenly noticing a smell that made her eyes widen behind her glasses. The smug smile on the man's face increased, taking note of her change in demeanor. "What's that smell?"

"Smoke," the man replied. "I was going to say it looked like your chefs need some more culinary work, but you're the one who's running the museum so…"

Kendall jumped as the alarms started to go off. She needed to investigate and see what was going on before the sprinklers went off. And, unfortunately, the sprinklers within their cave were linked up to the rest of the museum's system as well. An oversight on her part, but how many times did she think there was going to be a fire within the restaurant.

 _I knew I should've hired professionals,_ Kendall thought. She pushed past the man and hurried out to the kitchen. Bursting through the doors, she found the rangers all frantically flapping dishtowels at a fire on the stove while Chase ran around, looking for a fire extinguisher. Kendall pushed Chase out of the way, grabbed it from beside the refrigerator, and sprayed down the stove top, covering it in a thick layer of foam.

The commotion died down when Kendall slammed the fire extinguisher onto a nearby counter top. "What's going on?" She demanded.

Tyler coughed, forming a fist in front of his face. "I don't know," he said. "One minute I'm taking an order and the next I'm getting customers out of the restaurant."

Kendall turned to Shelby, who gave a sympathetic nod to the blue ranger who stood aside, head lowered in shame. "Koda got a little distracted," she explained. That turned Kendall's glance to the blue ranger, who seemed to sense her gaze.

Immediately, he looked to his boss. "Heckyl back?" Koda asked, looking around with an eager glance.

Kendall shook her head. "Not yet." She smiled sympathetically as Koda's shoulders slumped forward. It was funny to her, how the blue ranger had become so fond of Heckyl so quickly. All the same, she wasn't surprised. Koda made friends with nearly everyone, something about his being a caveman and thousands of years old made it easier for him to look at civilization and everything that was new with an open mind. Compared to the others who became wary of anyone who came too close to their secret of being rangers.

It happened more often than she'd like to admit. How many times had she come from her office to find an irate customer storming directly towards the entrance of their hideout because of a burnt burger or a wrong order filled for them? Too many times. After the fourth time, she had sent Koda out to be a waiter. That hadn't helped much either, he didn't know how to write and when he did get some pointers on it, it was scribble. Chase, Ivan, and Riley did the best they could while Shelby and Tyler raced around, trying to appease the customers with as many promises as they could.

"Things will be done soon."

"I'm sorry it's taking so long."

"How about some complementary chips while you wait?"

"I'll go check on that order for you."

All before they went storming back into the kitchen demanding to know what was going on. Before Chase, Riley, and Ivan—who rarely yelled—yelled back at them that it wasn't their fault, before all fingers were pointed to Koda. Who would look around innocently with that bashful smile that made it hard for anyone to be angry at him.

Kendall sat him down and explained things the best she could, but Koda was Koda and he had other talents. Such as giving her the idea of a new promo for the Dino Bite. _Can You Eat Like A Caveman?_ Anyone who could come in and defeat the challenge of eating a super-supersize meal in an hour, something Koda could demolish in minutes, they'd get their picture on the wall, an award, and able to have free food at the café for a month and free admission to the museum for a month. So far no one had managed to do it, but Koda had a good time when defending his title as a sort of attraction every chance he got.

The other rangers would watch in mild horror as he polished off each scrap of food in seconds, but business was business. And ranger business was something they still took very seriously. When they weren't working, they were rangering. A hard line had been drawn and they lived in their two worlds. SO much so that Kendall didn't remember the last time any of them spoke about their family.

They all deserved a break.

"Go home," She said to the rangers' surprise. "I'll shut the café down and clean up. You guys deserve some rest."

"A-are you sure?" Riley asked, hesitantly glancing at the smoldering pile on the stove top.

"Yes, we are under a contractual obligation to work a maximum of—"

Kendall stopped Ivan before he could go on a spiel about a knight's honor and duty. Not that she didn't find it noble, it was a quality she greatly admired in him, that he managed to bring over to the present time. But, sometimes, he needed to cool it. She gave them another smile and said, "It's fine."

"What about our Energems?" Chase asked. "I was supposed to help Keeper—"

"-I can help Keeper. Come on, you guys all deserve a rest." Kendall scanned each of their faces. "Go, before I change my mind."

"You heard the lady!" Shelby declared, immediately becoming animated. "Let's go before she changes her mind!" With that, she led the charge of the rangers leaving the Dino Bite before Kendall changed her mind.

She chuckled, watching them go. Then her smile faded. They deserved the time off, the time to themselves. She had to reveal the truth to them soon, about Snide. About how she and Keeper had noticed his movements, been tracking them.

Soon they'd know the truth, that he was back.

But for the moment, they needed to have some peace.

* * *

 **A/N:** And now a look at the rangers. I can't wait for you all to see what I've got coming up for you all.

 **~Avalon**


End file.
